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U.S. HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
109th Congress
Oversight Plan
This oversight
plan is filed pursuant to clause 2(d) of
rule X of the Rules of the House of
Representatives which requires that, not
later than February 15 of the first session
of a Congress, each standing committee of
the House shall adopt its oversight plan for
that Congress.
Introduction
The oversight
responsibilities of the Committee on Armed
Services will be conducted primarily within
the context of the committee's consideration
of the annual defense authorization bill.
This legislation covers the breadth of the
operations of the Department of Defense as
well as a significant portion of the annual
operating budget of the Department of
Energy. The annual national defense budget
involves millions of military and civilian
personnel, thousands of facilities, and
hundreds of agencies, departments, and
commands located throughout the world. The
committee will continue to perform general
oversight of the structure and management of
the Department of Defense and related
topics. However, the Committee will also
pursue a range of additional oversight
activities necessary to monitor and
facilitate the effective prosecution of U.S.
military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and
around the world.
The committee
conducts continuous oversight of laws,
programs, and agencies under permanent
authority in Titles 10 (Armed Forces), 32
(National Guard), 37 (Pay and Allowances),
42 (Atomic Energy), and 50 (War and National
Defense), United States Code, which are
within its jurisdiction.
The
jurisdiction of the committee, pursuant to
clause 2(c) of rule X of the Rules of the
House of Representatives is as follows:
-
Ammunition depots; forts; arsenals;
Army, Navy, and Air Force reservations and
establishments.
-
Common defense generally.
-
Conservation, development, and use of
naval petroleum and oil shale reserves.
-
The Department of Defense generally,
including the Departments of the Army, Navy,
and Air Force generally.
-
Interoceanic canals generally,
including measures relating to the
maintenance, operation, and administration
of interoceanic canals.
-
Merchant
Marine Academy, and State Merchant Marine
Academies.
-
Military applications of nuclear
energy.
-
Tactical intelligence and
intelligence related activities (TIARA) of
the Department of Defense.
-
National security aspects of the
merchant marine, including financial
assistance for the construction and
operation of vessels, the maintenance of the
U.S. shipbuilding and ship repair industrial
base, cabotage, cargo preference, and
merchant marine officers and seamen as these
matters relate to national security.
-
Pay, promotion, retirement, and other
benefits and privileges of members of the
armed services.
-
Scientific research and development
in support of the armed services.
-
Selective service.
-
Size and composition of the Army,
Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force.
-
Soldiers' and sailors' homes.
-
Strategic and critical materials
necessary for the common defense.
In addition to
its legislative jurisdiction and general
oversight function, the committee has
special oversight functions with respect to
international arms control and disarmament
and the education of military dependents in
schools pursuant to clause 3(g) of rule X of
the Rules of the House of Representatives.
Oversight
Agenda
The committee
will continue its oversight and assessment
of threats to U.S. national security. The
committee will regularly assess national
security threats and challenges as it
considers of the fiscal year 2006 and fiscal
year 2007 defense budget requests. This
effort will involve oversight hearings with
the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the individual
service secretaries and chiefs of staff,
combatant commanders, officials of the
Department of Defense and the military
departments, the Director of National
Intelligence, including the National Counter
Terrorism Center and other defense-related
intelligence agencies, and the Secretary of
Energy, the Under Secretary for Nuclear
Security and other officials of the
Department of Energy. In addition, the
committee will invite the views and
perspectives of outside experts in academia,
industry, associations, and those in private
life on these matters.
The oversight
agenda below, unless otherwise noted, is
designed to support the consideration by the
committee and, ultimately, the House of
Representatives of the annual defense
authorization bill as well as the
committee’s broader oversight
responsibilities. The issues identified
below are expected to be on-going areas of
oversight activity throughout the 109th
Congress. In addition, the committee will
pay particular attention to the mandates
placed on executive departments and agencies
by Public Law 103-62, the Government
Performance and Results Act of 1993.
Pursuant to clause 2(d)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, the
committee will also examine rules,
regulations, statutes, and court decisions
affecting the Department of Defense and the
Department of Energy for their effects on
efficiency and good management practices.
Given the unique
nature of national security issues and
related oversight of the armed forces, the
oversight agenda is subject to the emergence
of unforeseen events that may displace
previously planned activities. Such events
significantly complicate the ability to
prescribe with great accuracy or specificity
the entire oversight agenda of the
committee. For instance, the oversight of
defense activities by the committee has
historically involved in-depth assessments
of military operations and other major
events that are generally difficult to
predict in advance. Most recently, the
committee held extensive hearings and
briefings on the conduct of Operation Iraqi
Freedom, the pursuit of terrorists and
insurgents in Iraq, the force protection
capabilities of U.S. armed forces deployed
around the world (in particular, as they
relate to the responsiveness of the defense
acquisition system and the U.S. industrial
base to properly and rapidly equipping
military forces), the process of
establishing indigenous security forces in
Afghanistan and Iraq, and the continued
threat of weapons of mass destruction
proliferation to states such as North Korea
and Iran. The breadth and demands of these
reviews are such that they can dominate
committee and staff resources, sometimes at
the expense of other planned activities.
The continuing unsettled nature of the
post-September 11 world requires that
event-driven oversight continue, despite the
impact on planned oversight activities.
In addition, the
committee has a long tradition of
translating oversight activities into
prescriptive legislative action as reflected
in past efforts such as providing for
concurrent receipt of retirement and
disability benefits for veterans with
qualifying combat related disabilities,
reforming the military retirement system,
the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense
Reorganization Act, the Federal Acquisition
Workforce Improvement Act, the Federal
Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994, the
Federal Acquisition Reform Act of 1996,
establishing the National Nuclear Security
Administration and related reforms of the
management of the national security programs
of the Department of Energy, and reforming
the military health care system.
Additionally, the committee has taken an
active role in the monitoring and engaging
in the various aspects of technology export
policy and associated legislation such as
the Export Administration Act and expects to
continue that effort in the 109th
Congress. The committee will continue to
maintain a strong linkage between formal
oversight efforts and legislative
initiatives.
In
addition to the above, the following
specific areas and subjects are identified
for special attention during the 109th
Congress.
Policy Issues
National
Military Strategy and Other Defense Policy
Issues
Particular
attention will be given, to the following:
the adequacy of active and reserve component
force structure and end strength to carry
out the national military strategy of the
United States; Department of Defense efforts
to convert lower priority military personnel
spaces to higher priority requirements;
initiatives to enhance guard and reserve
forces and integrate active and reserve
components; the role of contingency
operations in the execution of the National
Military Strategy and the force structure
required to sustain such operations;
implementation of the National Military
Strategy delineated in the Quadrennial
Defense Review; the technological,
doctrinal, and other factors affecting the
long-term transformation of the conduct of
military operations; force structure changes
being made or contemplated in order to
achieve the Department’s transformational
goals; authorities and resources available
and necessary to conduct reconstruction and
stabilization operations; a review of the
roles and responsibilities of the Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and of the
combatant commands’ military requirements,
including the reorganization and functional
realignment of Strategic Command and the
evolving mission of the Northern Command and
its ability to complement the missions of
the Department of Homeland Security; and the
roles and missions of the armed services and
their implications for modernization
requirements and the development of major
weapons systems.
Global War on
Terrorism
Since September
11, 2001, the Department of Defense has
conducted continuous military operations
against those who might threaten the
security of the United States or its friends
and allies. Operation Enduring Freedom in
Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom have
placed new demands on the armed forces and
required them to alter standard operating
procedures, training, doctrine, and
traditional concepts of operations. Even as
this occurs, enemies of the United States
are adapting their tactics and techniques to
exploit those areas where U.S. capabilities
might not be as strong. Consequently, it is
increasingly clear that success in these
areas requires increased cooperation between
and among federal departments and agencies.
The committee will also continue to examine
the department’s role in counternarcotics
efforts and the link to terrorism. The
committee will review these efforts to
ensure that the Department of Defense
contributes to the long-term success of
government-wide efforts to prevail in the
Global War on Terrorism.
Intelligence
The committee
will continue to coordinate with the
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
on tactical intelligence matters,
intelligence-related activities of the
Department of Defense and intelligence and
counterintelligence activities of the
Department of Energy in the course of its
annual oversight of the intelligence
community and the authorization of
appropriations for intelligence activities
shared by the two committees. The committee
will place particular emphasis on the
ongoing reorganization of the Intelligence
Community, through implementation of the
National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004
(Public Law 108-458), with particular
interest in improving the quality of the
Nation’s intelligence and ensuring our
national intelligence community continues to
provide rapid and full support to military
operations and requirements.
Space Programs
Particular
attention will be given, to the policies and
programs associated with the protection of
national security space assets and the
development of space-based effects in
military operations. The committee will
assess Department of Defense efforts to
leverage industry and academia for the
purposes of increasing the quality of
space-qualified personnel involved in space
programs. Further, the committee will
engage the space community to develop a
clearly articulated and coherent space
control policy as well as explore
opportunities to further integrate space
assets with the nation’s warfighting
capabilities.
Missile Defense
Programs
The committee will continue to monitor the
Department of Defense’s plans to accelerate
fielding of an initial capability for
several missile defense programs. The
committee will focus on three areas:
tracking of key milestones for the
development and testing of missile defense
elements and the effect on future program
viability, tracking the Ronald Reagan
National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2005 (Public Law 108-375)
requirement for establishing system
baselines and operational test and
evaluation criteria, and transitioning of
missile defense elements to the individual
military services for eventual acquisition
and operation.
Organization and Management of the
Department of Defense
The committee will review Department of
Defense infrastructure and organization, in
particular defense reform proposals
recommended by the administration or
implemented in light of lessons learned from
past efforts at defense transformation,
Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi
Freedom, and the ongoing reorganization of
the intelligence community.
In addition, the committee will assess the
Department of Defense’s implementation of
the reforms in joint officer management and
joint professional military education
mandated by the Ronald W. Reagan National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2005 (Public Law 108-375).
Threats Posed by Unconventional Warfare
The committee will continue its oversight of
unconventional threats to national security
and U.S. military forces. Particular
attention will be given to: the continuing
response of the Department of Defense to the
events of September 11, 2001, and the Global
War on Terrorism; the operations of the
Northern Command; the adequacy of military
force protection measures, including
intelligence, operational, and tactical
doctrine; equipment modernization necessary
to conduct the global war on terrorism;
progress in establishing a national
collaborative environment for intelligence
information; the conduct of information
operations; related organizational matters;
the design of installations and facilities
to address threats posed by terrorism
utilizing either conventional weapons or
weapons of mass destruction; and the role
and involvement of the Special Operations
Command.
Military
Applications of Nuclear Energy
The committee will
continue to assess Atomic Energy Defense
Activities programs, including, but not
limited to, the following: continuing
modernization and maintenance of U.S.
defense nuclear force structure in support
of military and national security
requirements; assessment of possible effects
of a nuclear test ban, in whole or in part,
on the safety and reliability of the U.S.
nuclear deterrent; the adequacy of the
Department of Energy’s science-based
stockpile stewardship program to guarantee
the safety, reliability and performance of
the stockpile in the absence of testing;
assessment of options for the disposition of
weapons-grade plutonium and highly enriched
uranium; Department of Energy compliance
with Design Basis Threat requirements;
implementation of Waste Incidental to
Reprocessing changes, including the National
Academy of Sciences study on nuclear waste,
required by the Ronald W. Reagan National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2005 (Public Law 108-375). Additionally,
the committee will pursue an assessment of
security standards and practices at Los
Alamos National Laboratory and other
National Nuclear Security Administration
sites, with a specific focus on the quality
of federal oversight of laboratory
management and operating contractor security
practices; an evaluation of National Nuclear
Security Administration performance of its
roles and missions under Title 50 of the
National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2000 (Public Law 106-65);
implementation of the recommendations of the
Nuclear Posture Review undertaken pursuant
to sections 1041 and 1042 of the Floyd D.
Spence National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2001 (Public Law 106-398);
and the national security implications of
the Moscow Treaty requiring a reduction in
active, deployed strategic weapons to a
level of 1,700-2,200 weapons by 2012.
Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Threat
Reduction
The committee will continue its oversight of
the Cooperative Threat Reduction program and
nuclear non-proliferation issues. In
particular, the committee will focus on
ensuring increased transparency and high
standards of conduct from participating
parties and ensuring complete access and
accountability for these programs. The
committee will also assess the appropriate
conditions to be placed on non-proliferation
assistance given to the states of the former
Soviet Union.
Technology
Transfers and Export Controls
The committee will
continue to examine the U.S. export control
regime and its effectiveness in preventing
the transfer of sensitive military-related
technologies to potential adversaries. In
particular, the committee will assess the
effects of globalization, including
industrial mergers and acquisitions, on the
ability of the United States to prevent the
flow of militarily sophisticated dual-use
technologies to potential adversaries, and
evaluate proposals to modify existing
domestic and multilateral export control
regimes. In these and other export
control-related areas, the committee will
continue to coordinate with the Committee on
International Relations.
Transformation
The Secretary of
Defense has made transformation of U.S.
military forces to meet the challenges of
the 21st Century one of his
highest priorities. The 2001 Quadrennial
Defense Review outlined six transformational
goals for the Department of Defense and the
military services. The 2005 Quadrennial
Defense Review is anticipated to further
refine these transformation goals. The
committee expects that balancing funding for
transformational programs and initiatives
along with supporting the cost of the Global
War on Terrorism will be a challenging
aspect of the fiscal year 2006 budget
submission. The committee will hold
oversight hearings on a number of aspects
regarding transformation, including funding
for the Department’s transformation
investment accounts, initiatives such as
anti-access capabilities, enhanced space
operations, and leveraging information
technology and information operations, and
funding for and implementation of the
Army’s plan to modularize active and reserve
component combat brigades.
Homeland Defense
The National Defense Authorization Act for
FY 2002 (P.L. 107-107) created an Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense to
oversee Department of Defense activities
related to homeland security. In October
2002, the Department established a new
combatant command, Northern Command, to
provide unity of command for the land, sea
and air defense of the United States.
Although measures have been established to
coordinate Department of Defense homeland
defense and counter-terrorism programs with
those of the Departments of Homeland
Security, Health and Human Services, and
others at the interdepartmental level, these
measures do not appear to have been carried
through to the operational level,
particularly in the areas of acquisition.
The Ronald W. Reagan National Defense
Authorization Act for FY 2005 (P.L. 108-375)
created new authority for the use of the
National Guard under title 32, U.S. Code, in
support of homeland defense activities. The
implementation of this new statutory
authority, as well as progress the
department has made in various aspects of
periodic homeland defense, will be a focus
of committee oversight activities.
Acquisition Issues
Acquisition Policy
The committee
will continue to monitor the ongoing
implementation of the Federal Acquisition
Streamlining Act of 1994, the Federal
Acquisition Reform Act of 1996, and other
recent reforms of the federal acquisition
system as they affect the procurement
practices of the Department of Defense. The
Department of Defense has revised the 5000
series acquisition regulations that
established acquisition program milestones
and decision criteria to provide streamlined
guidance designed to support shorter
acquisition timelines. The committee will
examine the effectiveness of these changes.
In addition, the committee will examine the
Department’s reaction and use of the rapid
acquisition process to support the conduct
of the Global War on Terrorism. In
particular, the committee will focus on the
acquisition of space systems and Department
efforts to develop a separate space
acquisition system. The committee will
continue to coordinate with the Committee on
Government Reform in matters of shared
jurisdiction and interest.
Financial Management
and Oversight of Weapons Programs
Major weapons system
development and acquisition programs
continued to experience cost growth and
schedule delays over the past several
years. The committee will assess the need
for legislative action by examining causes
of these problems including, requirements
growth, late requirements definition of,
poor cost estimating, improper funding
profiles, labor and material cost increases,
poor program execution, and program
instability.
Military
Modernization
Particular
attention will be given to the following: a
continuing examination of military equipment
modernization with respect to military
capability; Army modularity; tactical
aviation and bomber force structure;
shipbuilding requirements; anti-submarine
and mine warfare; strategic and tactical
logistic lift capability; development of
joint-service transformation programs;
ammunition and the associated industrial
base; and inventories of precision and
conventional munitions.
Force
Protection
The committee
will monitor force protection measures used
to combat asymmetric unconventional
threats. Particular attention will be given
to the following: tactical wheeled vehicle
armoring initiatives; personnel body armor;
countermeasures to improvised explosive
devices; countermeasures to rockets and
mortars; equipment modernization necessary
to combat asymmetric threats and the
associated industrial base; and the
innovation of operational training, tactics
and procedures necessary to meet rapidly
evolving asymmetric threats in theaters such
as Iraq and Afghanistan.
Cost Accounting and
Asset Management Reforms
Four years ago the
Department of Defense embarked on an effort
to update cost accounting and asset
management systems. Congress supported the
effort with the expectation that
installation of modern computer-based
systems would increase efficiency and result
in significant cost savings. To date there
is neither evidence that significant
progress has been made, nor savings
realized. The committee intends to
determine what actions must be taken to
cause successful completion of this
modernization effort.
MILITARY READINESS
Base Realignment and Closure
The committee will continue to examine the
costs and savings associated with base
realignment and closure actions taken in
1988, 1991, 1993, and 1995. In addition,
the committee will closely monitor the
conduct of the Department of Defense and the
Base Realignment and Closure Commission
during the 2005 base realignment and closure
round authorized in the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002
(Public Law 107-107). The committee will
also examine the impact of base realignment
and closure actions on affected local
communities, particularly the effects of
regulations and statutes governing base
reuse, property disposal, and community
adjustment assistance. Furthermore, the
committee will assess the effects of base
realignment and closure actions on force
readiness, strategic posture, and surge
capabilities.
National Security Aspects of the Merchant
Marine
The committee
will continue its oversight of the
implementation of the recently enacted
Maritime Security Act of 2004. In addition,
the committee will monitor closely the
administration’s efforts at implementing the
new national security tanker program.
Concerns have been raised as to the
effectiveness of the title XI loan
guarantee. The committee will address the
need for additional legislation to ensure
the continuation of a viable program. The
committee will also continue to assess the
condition of the National Defense Reserve
Fleet and the administration’s efforts at
disposing of the vessels using domestic
sources in an environmentally sound manner.
Total Force, Personnel, and Health Issues
Force
Readiness and Adequacy
The committee
will closely examine the need for active end
strength growth in the Army and Marine Corps
beyond the levels authorized by the 108th
Congress. In addition, the committee will
assess the mix of active and reserve
component forces to ensure that each
component is effectively structured to
sustain the war on terrorism. Particular
attention will also be given to the
following: the impact of the high pace of
deployments and frequency of troop rotations
to combat zones on service personnel and
their families; the adequacy of recruitment
and retention policies, programs and
resources of the military services; current
policies supporting officer and enlisted
recruiting, accessions, training,
promotions, separations, and retirements;
and pay, compensation, and other benefits of
military service.
Mobilization and Sustainment of the Reserve
Components
There are growing numbers of reports that
the reserve components are facing increasing
difficulty in sustaining personnel levels
required by the Global War on Terrorism and
by force requirements for missions beyond
wartime requirements. Over the longer term,
the committee expects that the independent
commission on the National Guard and
Reserves established by the Ronald Reagan
National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2005 (Public Law 108-375) will
provide useful insight into necessary future
reforms. In the near term, the committee
will closely examine mobilization policies
and processes, as well the use of incentives
for voluntary service and the authorities
and processes related to involuntary recalls
to active duty to determine if changes are
required sooner than those that might be
recommended by the independent commission.
Health Care and
Medical Readiness for Reserves
The Ronald W. Reagan
National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2005 (Public Law 108-375)
provided enhancements to the health care
benefits for reserve component members and
their families as well as new initiatives to
improve medical readiness for the reserves.
The committee will pay particular attention
to ensure that DOD properly and equitably
implements TRICARE Standard coverage for
eligible reservists and their families. The
implementation of the program will require
the Department of Defense to make a number
of policy determinations that will require
close oversight by the committee to ensure
the program is promptly and equitably
implemented. Additionally, the committee
will consider the findings of a Comptroller
General study on the cost and feasibility of
providing private health insurance stipends
for members of the Ready Reserves. The
committee will also monitor efforts by the
Department to develop a comprehensive plan
to improve medical readiness and health
status tracking of members of the Armed
Forces, particularly members of the reserve
components.
Wounded and Disabled Service Members and
Their Families
The committee will focus during the 109th
Congress will be the adequacy of Department
of Defense policies and programs for wounded
and disabled service members and their
families. Particular attention will be
given not only to the ability of the
military services to provide for injured
military personnel and their families while
on active duty, but also to the
effectiveness of the systems to provide for
wounded and disabled service members
following separation from active duty. To
these ends, the committee will oversee the
medical treatment and medical holdover
programs and assess the processes and
outcomes of the medical and physical
evaluation boards in each service to ensure
their fairness and equity for active and
reserve component personnel. The committee
will be particularly interested in the
processes used by the services to retain
disabled service members who wish to remain
on active duty.
As part of a continuing assessment of
programs designed to provide a seamless
transition to civilian life for active and
reserve component service members and their
families, the committee will oversee
programs such as the Army’s Disabled Soldier
Support System and the Marine for Life
Program. The committee will work with the
Departments of Veterans’ Affairs and Labor,
and the House committees with jurisdiction
over those departments, to oversee the
inter-agency arrangements related to the
seamless transition of wounded and disabled
service members and their families. The
committee will also evaluate the Department
of Defense's ability to integrate and
coordinate the services and resources
available to wounded and disabled service
members and their families not only from
other federal agencies, and the private
sector. These efforts will be in addition
to the Comptroller General review of the
Department of Defense transition assistance
programs mandated by the Ronald W. Reagan
National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2005 (Public Law 108-375).
Mental Health
Services for Members of the Armed Forces
The committee will
assess the adequacy and effectiveness of
mental health services provided to members
of the Armed Forces and their families.
Particular attention will be given to mental
health services for service members and
their families during a deployment to combat
theaters and during the post-deployment
period. Given the desire for a
comprehensive look at these issues, the
committee directed the Comptroller General
in the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005
(Public Law 108-375) to review the existing
mental health treatment and screening
resources currently provided by the
Department of Defense. The review, due to
Congress by March 31, 2005, will require the
immediate attention of the committee.
Military and
Military Retiree Health Care
The committee will
continue efforts to address the cost,
accessibility, and quality of peacetime
military health care. In particular, the
committee will focus on issues related to
beneficiary access to TRICARE providers,
especially for those beneficiaries using
TRICARE Standard. The committee will also
continue to assess reports of provider
shortages in some areas.
Sexual Assault in
the Military
The committee will
continue efforts to prevent sexual assaults
in the military and to ensure that victims
of sexual assault are provided appropriate
care and support. The committee anticipates
that the final report from the Task Force on
Sexual Harassment and Violence at the
Military Academies will provide a number of
proposals that merit adoption and
implementation. Given the desire for a more
expansive and comprehensive look at the
issues, the Ronald W. Reagan National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2005 (Public Law 108-375) expand the mission
of the task force to include an examination
of all matters relating to sexual assault in
the military and to provide recommendations
for more effectively address sexual
assault. Additionally, the committee is
interested in how sexual assaults are
treated in the military justice system and
will focus on the recommendations by the
Department of Defense for revision of the
Uniformed Code of Military Justice.
Finally, the committee will review and
assess the Department of Defense policy and
procedures on prevention and response to
sexual assaults involving members of the
Armed Forces.
Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Programs
Particular
attention will be given to the following:
oversight of morale, welfare, and recreation
programs; examination of military exchanges
and commissaries; and oversight of
non-appropriated fund construction programs
and other non-appropriated fund
instrumentalities.
Civilian Personnel
The committee will continue its oversight
efforts of Department of Defense civilian
personnel pay and policies with a particular
emphasis on the implementation of National
Security Personnel System.
Science, Technology, and Environmental
Issues
Accelerating
Transition and Fielding of Advanced
Technologies for Emerging Critical
Operational Needs
The pace at which new
technology moves from the laboratory to a
fielded system has been an area of
continuing concern to the Department of
Defense and to Congress. There are a number
of initiatives underway in the Department of
Defense to address this problem: the
Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration
program; the Army’s Rapid Fielding
Initiative; the Technology Transition
Initiative; the Defense Challenge Program;
the Small Business Innovative Research
program; congressional direction to the
Secretary of Defense to proscribe rapid
acquisition and deployment procedures,
special emergency procurement authority for
use in support of contingency operations or
in response to a nuclear, biological,
chemical, or radiological attack; and
establishment of the quick reaction special
projects program. The committee will review
the effectiveness of these programs and
assess additional measures recommended by
the Department to accelerate the more rapid
transition and fielding of advanced
technologies to meet emerging critical
needs.
Chemical-Biological Defense Program
The preparedness
of U.S. armed forces to fight effectively
under the threat of the use of chemical or
biological weapons by an adversary has been
an area of continuing interest and oversight
by the committee since before the 1990
Persian Gulf War against Iraq. A major
reorganization of the chemical-biological
defense program management within the
Department of Defense to make the program
more responsive to the needs of the forces
in the field (and to homeland defense
requirements) took place in fiscal year
2004. Changes in some elements of the
program as a result of that reorganization
are likely to be a part of the fiscal year
2006 budget request. The committee will
review the current state of preparedness for
chemical-biological defense among U.S. armed
forces and assess the effectiveness of the
program management and the adequacy of
program funding.
Accelerating the
Research, Development, and Acquisition of
Medical Countermeasures Against Biological
Warfare Agents
In the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002
(Public Law 107-107), Congress directed the
Secretary of Defense to accelerate the
Department of Defense’s efforts to develop
medical countermeasures against biological
warfare agents and for the Institute of
Medicine and the National Research Council
to identify new approaches to accelerate the
process for review and approval of such
countermeasures. In Public Law 108-186,
Congress provided the authority for the
Secretary to establish an enhanced
biomedical countermeasures program to
protect members of the Armed Forces from
attack with chemical, biological,
radiological, or nuclear agents. During
consideration of the Fiscal Year 2005 budget
request, the committee directed the
Secretary to provide the Department’s
strategic plan implementing these
authorities. The committee expects to
address the effectiveness of this plan
during oversight hearings on the
chemical-biological defense program.
Chemical
Demilitarization Program
Under
the Chemical Warfare Convention Treaty, the
United States is required to complete
destruction of its stockpile of lethal
chemical warfare agents and munitions by
September 2012. Although approximately
one-third of the U.S. chemical weapons
stockpile has been destroyed and progress is
being made in bringing on line the last of
the Army’s baseline incineration plants,
long-term technical issues and political and
environmental controversies have resulted in
significant program delays and cost growth
in the program. A recent Department of
Defense acquisition decision subdivides the
program and funding into Army- and Office of
the Secretary of Defense-managed elements
and limits construction of the Office of the
Secretary of Defense-managed facilities
pending the identification and assessment of
more cost-effective alternatives. The
committee will review the current state of
the program as well as measures that may be
taken to reduce program costs and accelerate
the destruction of the stockpile.
Environmental Programs
The committee will examine the Department of
Defense and military services’ environmental
management programs including funding levels
and adherence to federal, state, and local
requirements for cleanup, compliance, and
pollution prevention. The committee will
also examine the Department’s conservation
and environmental technology programs.
Particular attention will be given to the
effect that compliance with federal, state,
and local environmental requirements has on
military units’ ability to realistically
utilize test and training ranges and
military installations.
Industrial and Technological Base
The operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have
placed significant surge requirements on the
defense industrial base. The committee is
concerned that in several instances,
critical equipment and spare parts could not
be delivered in a timely manner and creating
a significant problem for the combatant
commander. Current law (10 U.S.C. 2501)
requires that the National Technology and
Industrial Base be capable of supporting
military operations of varying intensity and
duration. The committee will conduct a
careful examination of industrial and
governmental performances in fulfilling
these requirements and the Department of
Defense process of ensuring this
capability. In addition, attention will be
given to the following: current budgets and
policies related to the maintenance of the
defense industrial and technology base;
development and transition of advanced
manufacturing technology; the ramifications
of mergers and acquisitions in the defense
industry on the development of future
weapons systems; dual-use technology
programs; examination of the current defense
laboratory and testing system; the role of
defense funding for university research in
the maintenance of the technology base; the
role of defense education funding to
stimulate the creation of scientist and
engineers; and the adequacy of the science
and technology base to support force
transformation.
Information Technology
The committee will
continue its oversight into the Department
of Defense’s information technology (IT)
programs, systems, and policies, including
business and national security systems. The
committee will pay particular attention, but
not limited to the following issues:
implementation by the Department of the
information security reforms authorized by
the E-Government Act of 2002, as well as
numerous provisions in various National
Defense Authorization Acts, including the
new business management domain structure and
authority, end-to-end Internet Protocol
version 6 testing, and others; assessment
of the measures the Department is executing
or will implement to reduce the number of
legacy systems, and to improve the security
of its myriad of networks; establishment and
implementation of an information
architecture for all information technology
systems and programs, to include networks
and applications; reduction of the
vulnerability of information technology
systems to unauthorized access and use, the
theft of information, and new forms of
information or cyber-warfare and terrorism;
and evolution of information operations that
are supported by IT programs. The committee
will continue applying strict scrutiny to
the Department’s enterprise-wide business
systems that are intended to streamline how
the Department handles its day-to-day
business operations. The committee will
also closely monitor the Department’s
implementation of these enterprise-wide
systems to evaluate its costs, schedules,
and scalability. Committee oversight will
also focus on attaining a better
understanding of the Global Information Grid
(GIG) architecture for tactical information
technology systems and how intelligence,
operations, logistics, communications, and
other tactical information technology
systems fit together in an enterprise
architecture to ensure cost savings and to
minimize redundancies, while delivering more
capabilities to the operators. As
appropriate, the committee will continue to
coordinate with the Committee on Government
Reform. Additionally, the committee will
review the management of radio frequency
spectrum to ensure that national security
requirements are adequately addressed. In
that review, the committee will continue to
coordinate with the Committee on Energy and
Commerce in this matter of shared
jurisdiction and interest.
Space
Technology
Particular
attention will be given to cooperation
within the Department of Defense between the
office of the Director for Defense Research
and Engineering and the National Security
Space Office to fill the void that exists
between space science and technology efforts
and operational space requirements
development. Additionally, the committee
will closely monitor and the development of
small-satellite and responsive launch
technology with the objective of full
demonstration and future operational
deployment.
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